How to Judge How Many Acres to Build a House On

Amanda Maddox

About the Author:

Amanda Maddox

Amanda Maddox began writing professionally in 2007. Her work appears on various websites focusing on topics about medical billing, coding, real estate, insurance, accounting and business. Maddox has her insurance and real estate licenses and holds an Associate of Applied Science in accounting and business administration from Wallace State Community College.

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An important factor when planning to build a house is determining how much land, or acreage, you need. According to Bankrate, access, land-use restrictions utilities and easements are all considerations when locating land to build a house on. The zoning commission provides you with the information about the acreage you plan to build on. However, you should decide before buying the land how many acres you need for your new home.

Step 1

Look at your house plans or blueprints. Determine how many square feet your home is. An acre is 43,560 square feet. Therefore, subtract the square footage of your home from the acreage's square footage and find out the amount of front, back and side yard available. You should build your house at least 25 feet from all roads. The county and city in most areas have a right of way--generally 10 feet wide--that allows them to use a portion of your land for adding utilities or widening the road.

Step 2

Locate the land's property lines. This will also be the neighbor's property lines. When deciding how many acres you should build your house on, consider how close neighbors can build. Keeping a fair amount of distance from the property lines ensures you maintain privacy.

Step 3

Write down how you plan to use your property. Include a map of flower gardens, vegetable gardens, decks and other landscaping ideas. Include a scale that shows how much land it takes to create the yard you are planning.

Step 4

Plan for pets and livestock, such as horses. For small pets, like dogs, consider how much room you need for them to run. Determine if you will fence the backyard or build a kennel. Also, for livestock, one acre per animal is the recommended for grazing.

Tip

Talk to the county zoning commission about restrictions and county right of way before determining how many acres you need for building.